Speaker: David Burd, General Manager, Baltimore & Greater Maryland – UBERPresentation: “UBER: Changing the way we get around Maryland”

Presentation highlights: UBER 101 – EVOLVING THE WAY THE WORLD MOVES

PUSH A BUTTON AND GET A RIDE – IN MINUTES1. Uber’s innovative technology platform connects riders with drivers in over 65 countries around the world.
2. Uber is the safe, reliable and affordable choice for millions of people every day.

UBER IN MARYLAND – SERVING MARYLAND SINCE NOVEMBER 20121. UBER PROVIDES TRANSPORTATION IN LOW‑INCOME COMMUNITIES (Uber defines “low-income” areas as census tracts where more than 30% of the workers are low-wage workers (those who earn less than $1,250 per month).

BY THE NUMBERS
294,000 ACTIVE RIDERS
11,000 ACTIVE DRIVER-PARTNERS
91% NUMBER OF TRIPS WITH A WAIT TIME UNDER 10 MINUTES

Additional Comments:

When asked if Uber adds to or reduces traffic congestion, David Burd responded that Uber reduces congestion because they serve more people in fewer cars on the road.

Uber is in the process of establishing “uberPOOL”, matching riders heading in the same direction.

Uber provides access to last mile connections and is filling gaps where there is no service by stimulating demand and supplying the service.

The graduate students are pursuing a dual degree in art and business at Johns Hopkins University and the Maryland Institute College of Art.

The “Design for America” concept is to apply design to societal issues. As a class project, the JHU/MICA graduate students are focusing their efforts regarding wayfinding signage on two populations: 1) people who ride the bus system all the time to get them to welcome change, and 2) new ridership.

Socializing with other city agencies to have them weigh in and collaborate on all wayfinding signage is important to achieve a successful result.

All modes of transit including biking need new wayfinding signage.

Discussion Summary: Meeting attendees were given the opportunity at the conclusion of the presentation, to share their feedback and to provide suggestions, ideas and concerns with the guest speakers. Electronic copies of both PowerPoint presentations will be made available to the full Transit Choices group:local_city_impact_marylandDFA_JHU_MICA_TransitChoices_Mar916

Jimmy Rouse: thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and acknowledged all of the guest speakers, for their interesting and informative presentations. He then gave an update on recent Transit Choices activities:

On February 25, 2016, Transit Choices, Citizens Planning & Housing Association, 1000 Friends of Maryland and the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance hosted a Mayoral Candidates Forum: “Leadership for Improving Transportation”. The event was held from 6:30 PM -8:30 PM at The Real News Network, 231 N. Holliday Street – Baltimore, MD 21202. Marc Steiner (Executive Producer/Host Marc Steiner Show, WEAA), served as moderator. Each Candidate was asked to complete a transit questionnaire, prior to the event. Jimmy’s takeaway from the event was that we are lucky to have such good candidates running for Mayor because they understand the importance of transit to our city. The questionnaire responses can be viewed here: Mayoral Candidate Bios and Questionnaires_Compiled. An audio recording from the Marc Steiner show can be found here: www.steinershow.org/podcasts/local-and-state-politics/mayoral-candidate-forum-on-the-future-of-transportation-in-baltimore/

The BaltimoreLink Ad-hoc committee met on March 4, 2016 to further discuss the BaltimoreLink transit improvement plan. The theme for the meeting was a discussion of how the committee should respond to the presentation made by Kevin Quinn (Director, Office of Planning and Programming with the MTA) at the January 12, 2016 meeting. One key topic of discussion among the group was whether BaltimoreLink is actually going to be better than our present system. All agreed that metrics are key to determining how to measure improvement. Kevin Quinn will provide an update to the committee at the April 15, 2016 meeting.

Other Business:

Brian O’Malley, President & CEO – Central Maryland Transportation Alliance (CMTA) provided information on four bills that his organization is supporting, and a link to a web page where they provide information and contact-your-legislator tools: www.congressweb.com/CMTA/12/background

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